The Wire with Alex

This week on our new segment 'EuroVision', Wire host Frances Wright catches up with our European Correspondent Cameron Mulgan. Cameron joins Frances from London, and updates her on developments in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, what it’s looking like on the ground for refugees around Europe, and a little about International Women’s Day in Europe. 

On the Tuesday Wire, Christina spoke to AUT Professor Marcus Jones for Dear Science. Today, they discussed Russia’s exclusion from the global scientific community, new variants of Covid-19, and when the pandemic might finally be over.

She also spoke to Professor Robert MacCulloch from the Univeristy of Auckland about Christopher Luxon’s State of the Nation speech at the weekend, and the economic breakdown of the National party’s proposed tax cuts.

Trishil spoke to Dr Alys Clarke from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute about her research into a virtual placenta. The application of the placenta will allow for clinical trials to occur during pregnancy.

Trishil also spoke to Professor Jennifer Kruger into her research into the femfit technology. The tech is designed to assist women with urinary incontience with exercising their pelvic floor muscles.

And finally, Christina spoke to Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith from Massey University the representation of sex workers in the media, and the stigma attached to the sex industry nearly twenty years after sex work was decriminalised in Aotearoa.

Research into conditions such as Fetal Growth Restriction has been limited in scope as pregnant women are unable to be tested on. Through development in virtual organ research, the virtual placenta was devised to simulate clinical research to take place and assess the risks of conditions like FGR on pregnant women and the likely survival of the child.

Trishil Dahya spoke to Doctor Alys Clark about her research and how it led to the development of the virtual placenta. The conversation also touched on the future application of virtual organ research and virtual clinical trials.

Nearly twenty years after Aotearoa decriminalised sex work, the stigma and stereotypes attached to sex workers and the industry persist. In particular, the representation of sex work in the media has reproduced negative ideas about sex work, despite a general societal shift to greater acceptance of sex work as work. Christina spoke to Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith from Massey University about their new research into the representation of sex work in the media, and the stigma surrounding sex work in Aotearoa.